Toennies adds to her gold collection

BY ROB GRAY

DES MOINES - When Belle Plaine's Emily Toennies needs running advice, she consults the voice.

“I talk to my dad a lot,” Toennies said. “He gets me going and he kind of scares me. He has one of those voices that just gets to you.”

 Toennis proved to be scary good Saturday in the Class 1A girls' state track and field meet at Drake Stadium.

 She anchored the Plainsmen's title-winning 800-meter sprint medley relay, surged to a win in the 200-meter dash and took second in the 100-meter run.

 She also earned her first title Thursday -- the 400-meters.

 “It's been crazy,” said Toennies, who moved to Belle Plaine this year from Fort Wayne, Ind.

  Belle Plaine finished second in the 1A girls' team standings with 46 points.

 Griswold won the meet with 57 points.

 Toennies edged a quick-closing Caitlyn Stroud of Corning in the 200 by 5-hundredths of a second.

 But was she confident throughout the race to her third title in three days?

 “Until (Stroud) was right beside me,” Toennies said. “Geez.”

 Credit the voice for her winning kick.

 “My dad always talks about playing with your heart,” Toennies said. “So whoever wants to win the most is the one who's going to.”

 Elkader Central's girls also turned a zest for competition into championships Saturday.

 The 400-meter shuttle hurdle relay team won in a time of 1:07.12.

 That, jubilant anchor Ashley Nemechek said, is a school record.

 “Whatever it took to win, that's what we wanted,” said Nemechek, whose brother, Tim, won the 1A boys' discus crown Friday.

 One Warrior, added another championship run Saturday.

 Emily Ruhser - who led off the shuttle hurdle win - held off Dani Coover of Belle Plaine by five hundredths of a second in the 100-meter hurdles.

 “Oh my God,” Ruhser said. “Oh wow. I just knew we were neck-and-neck. And I could feel my three step slowing down because of the wind - it was horrible. But I just sprinted at the end. It was awesome.”

 Even though it proved somewhat difficult to refocus after the previous win.

 “After the shuttle I was just so happy I wanted to cry,” Ruhser said. “But I was like, ‘I have to compose myself. I've got to get this one.' Now I'm choking up a little bit. I just wanted it so bad.”

 Conner Smock of Lisbon tried desperately to hold on for his third straight win in the 1A boys' 1,600-meter run, but saw a late-charging Taylor Huseman of Manson-Northwest Webster triumph instead.

 “When we were kicking it in I wasn't sure where (Huseman) was,” said Smock, who already had won his third 3,200 in a row earlier in the meet. “I just couldn't hold on. He ran a great race.”

Madrid won the boys' title with 74 points. Manson-Northwest Webster was second with 53,